Talk:Ian Vellacora
I will have to look to see if I still have my copy of Star Trek IV sourcebook, but while I understand that Captain Vellacora retired in the late 2260's (sometime after the Babel Conference in 2268, and after an assignment enforcing Corridan's Protectorate status), There are several factors that suggest this adventure takes place in the 2280's. First is the uniforms, not seen before 2278. Second is the mention of Kruge's recent penetration into Federation space. While he could've had more on earlier missions, since the timeline comes from the Star Trek IV source book, it seems reasonable that the mission takes place after Star Trek III. No where in Vellacora's history does it say how long he was retired, and he had a mission of diplomacy to the Gorn Empire before being promoted to Captian and overseeing the construction of the Arkadelphia, 1 year before the adventure starts. - unsigned comment by 67.87.205.163‎ :OK, here's a couple of points regarding the issues you bring up: :The Star Trek IV Sourcebook lists the following stardate for these events, and does state the lengths of time involved (it clearly states he was retired for four years), although the stardates do not specifically translate to years: :* stardate 2/1612, Commander Vellacorae reinstated after four years of retirement. This is concurrent with the V'Ger crisis (Star Trek The motion Picture, which occurred on reference stardate 2/1702). This means Vellacora might've retired around stardate 2/12 (or 2269) and returned in 2273 :* stardate 2/1708 - Vellacora assigned to starbase 12 :* stardate 2/1709 - Arkadelphia arrives at starbase 12 :* stardate 2/1710 - the organians disappear :* stardate 2/1712 - the Asparax government forms :* stardate 2/1801 - the Arkadelphia's fateful voyage :So, in the final analysis, we're looking at two years after The Motion Picture - or 2275 - but stardates do not always faithfully translate, so we shouldn't make that translation. This could easily be 2276 or 2277 -- not at all too early for the new uniforms, in my opinion. :One reason i caution and avoid uniform dating is that uniform styles do not change overnight - they usually change at a staggered rate, meaning some people get their new clothes before others. Will Decker showed up on the Enterprise in 2270 wearing the Motion Picture uniform ("The Final Voyage"), and stated that it was "being considered" and that if it worked well, Starfleet would make it official - meaning it hadn't been made official yet - but there were tons of people wearing it! There are surely more cases of this, so we can't definitively re-date this adventure on that basis. :The Kruge reference is obviously a mistake, but not an unreconcilable one - the reference says that Kruge made a disruptive crossing of the border, which he could have done many times before Star Trek III. Even with that said, this adventure contains a well-ordered train of events that progresses from the Axanar incident, through the 2260s five-year mission (with definite references to date-able events with the Gorn and at Babel), and then in the ST4 sourcebook, there is a clear progression of events and a clear expression of the length of his retirement and where it falls in the regular Star Trek timeline. -- Captain MKB 20:53, September 29, 2011 (UTC)